ROCKWOOD, Tenn. — A man is facing DUI and assault charges after a woman and her baby were injured jumping out of a truck as it sped toward the water at Watts Bar Lake near Tom Fuller Memorial Park, police said.
According to the report from the Rockwood Police Department, someone called 911 saying a baby was lying in the road bleeding and a woman was "almost dead."
Officers arrived and found a woman and a baby who appeared to be unresponsive with several injuries around 7 p.m. on Sept. 4 at the Tom Fuller Boat Ramp on Pumphouse Road.
Police said they approached the two and found they were responsive when the baby began crying. The woman was bleeding with a severe head injury and road rash, and police said the child appeared to have a broken leg and other injuries.
According to a witness, the woman jumped out of a truck with the baby, and police found the truck in the parking lot. When police approached the truck, they said they found the driver, Adam Black, inside without his seatbelt on. Police said Black smelled like alcohol and they were unable to understand him due to his speech being slurred.
Police said Black refused to come out of the vehicle, so officers removed him and placed him in handcuffs. They said Black was unable to stand on his own without falling over.
RPD said they learned Black was driving on Scandlyn Drive west toward the boat ramp with the woman and baby inside the truck. Witnesses said they saw the vehicle go off the road, drive through the boat ramp sign and speed toward Watts Bar Lake.
A witness said the vehicle was halfway down the ramp when a passenger door opened and a woman jumped out with a baby. The two hit the pavement.
Officers said Black then parked his vehicle and remained in the driver's seat until officers arrived. Police said Black told them they were fighting before the incident.
The woman and the baby were flown to University of Tennessee Medical Center by Lifestar. Black was arrested and booked into the Roane County Detention Center after being taken to Roane Medical Center for a blood draw.
Police said Black had at least three prior DUIs in the past four years. He is being charged with driving under the influence, two counts of aggravated vehicular assault, reckless endangerment and other charges related to the incident.